“Mark is awesome. We had a blast working on ‘Pain and Gain’ and I’m so fired up to be back working with him. An actor of his caliber is the perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers’ legacy,” Bay, the film's director, said in a release posted on his website.

The next installment in the series will begin shooting next spring. It will hit theaters on June 27, 2014.

Bay’s first film in the franchise was a box-office sensation in 2007, opening at No. 1 and earning more than $700 million worldwide.

From Paramount Pictures in association with Hasbro, the film will be produced by Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Bay, Brian Goldner and Mark Vahradian.